Civic

In Support of Chikka Bapu (Anna Hazare) for Jan Lokpal bill thousands turned up at Freedom Park, Bangalore on 8-Apr evening. All TV channels lined up to cover the hunger strike that is going on for past 4 days.People came up with different placards, banners, posters to show how much they hate corruption. All must have been the sufferers of corruption in their lives.I heard a story from the public at Freedom Park ... one of the members factory was gutted in a fire when he is taking part in hunger strike at Freedom Park. Fire officials asked 20k for…

After starting to use BMTC buses, one of our federation members, Jayvant Anantpur, wrote a nice article why we should still use BMTC instead of our personal vehicles in Bangalore. Read on... I agree that we should try to use BMTC as much as possible. I have been trying to do that for one year now and have successfully figured out how to commute by BMTC from Bellandur gate to IISc (between Malleshwaram & Yeshwantpur).I won't say the bus rides are very smooth etc but when compared to driving my car or going by auto/taxi, I think going by BMTC…

After starting to use BMTC buses, one of our federation members, Jayvant Anantpur, wrote a nice article why we should still use BMTC instead of our personal vehicles in Bangalore. Read on... I agree that we should try to use BMTC as much as possible. I have been trying to do that for one year now and have successfully figured out how to commute by BMTC from Bellandur gate to IISc (between Malleshwaram & Yeshwantpur).I won't say the bus rides are very smooth etc but when compared to driving my car or going by auto/taxi, I think going by BMTC…

Last Sunday, residents of apartments in Bellandur demonstrated against construction trucks using their road. The tipper trucks that run from behind the RMZ Ecospace (on Outer Ring Road) to Sarjapur Road via Oceanus Triton and Total Mall, are serious health hazard for the residents in and around this route. These trucks raise a lot of dust, that gets spread all over the road, the gardens and homes along the way. In addition to the health hazards, it has deteriorated the condition of the roads on this patch and is a potential cause of road accidents (one fatal accident of a…

Last Sunday, residents of apartments in Bellandur demonstrated against construction trucks using their road. The tipper trucks that run from behind the RMZ Ecospace (on Outer Ring Road) to Sarjapur Road via Oceanus Triton and Total Mall, are serious health hazard for the residents in and around this route. These trucks raise a lot of dust, that gets spread all over the road, the gardens and homes along the way. In addition to the health hazards, it has deteriorated the condition of the roads on this patch and is a potential cause of road accidents (one fatal accident of a…

When I was 5 I had requested my father (ofcourse through Home Minister, my mom) for a bicycle. My father said NO with a reason 'I may end up in unnecessary accidents'.I did fasting for 1 full day (I know Gandhian way when I was 5 ;-) ) for pressurizing my father to buy me a bi-cycle. He buckled at the end of the day and new bicycle was at home next day evening. I donno the cost of the bicycle at that time but it was newly introduce Geared one by BSA.I had bicycle (2nd one) till I completed…

When I was 5 I had requested my father (ofcourse through Home Minister, my mom) for a bicycle. My father said NO with a reason 'I may end up in unnecessary accidents'.I did fasting for 1 full day (I know Gandhian way when I was 5 ;-) ) for pressurizing my father to buy me a bi-cycle. He buckled at the end of the day and new bicycle was at home next day evening. I donno the cost of the bicycle at that time but it was newly introduce Geared one by BSA.I had bicycle (2nd one) till I completed…

"Bangalore is not a garden city any more!" is a common refrain that I have been hearing for over 3 years. It is definitely not the cool town that we had visited a few times during summer in the mid 1980's, escaping the scorching Chennai heat. (Apparently, it was still a pleasant place when my husband started his career here over a decade ago). This situation reminds me of the song Ayyayyo Bengaluru lamenting this city's deterioration rendered during the first edition of Namma Jathre (Freedom Festival) in Cubbon Park in 2006. So what are the reasons for this live…

"Bangalore is not a garden city any more!" is a common refrain that I have been hearing for over 3 years. It is definitely not the cool town that we had visited a few times during summer in the mid 1980's, escaping the scorching Chennai heat. (Apparently, it was still a pleasant place when my husband started his career here over a decade ago). This situation reminds me of the song Ayyayyo Bengaluru lamenting this city's deterioration rendered during the first edition of Namma Jathre (Freedom Festival) in Cubbon Park in 2006. So what are the reasons for this live…

An Act that entrusts commoners with the authority to question the government and its actions. The only legislation that stipulates a response time of 30 days (48 hours in the case of human rights violations). A fairly inclusive law that was created with the involvement of social workers, ordinary people, non-governmental, community based and grassroots organizations.We learnt this and more during an invigorating session on the "Introduction to Right to Information Act" that lasted three hours and a half (an hour longer than originally planned) and left us hungry for more. Organized by the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN) in…